Wild Thing

You make my heart sing.
You make everything groovy,
Wild thing…

I saw an ad on the side of my Facebook page the other night about 100 things to see or do in Midland/Odessa. (Now that I want to see it, is it there? No!) While I was sitting here in bed, not feeling the best, I started thinking about things I might want to do but most likely would never do. (I say most likely because you never can tell!) I came up with a few wild things I’d do if I was brave…or someone else! Here you go.

1. I’d have tattoos…yes, more than one but they would be in places that required an invitation for viewing. And they wouldn’t be of ‘normal’ tattoo things. I saw one once that was really cute and I asked the girl if I could use it should I ever decide I wanted to. She said yes, but not to copy it exactly. Anyway, it’s a mummy and the mummy is knitting with a string from her leg. I thought it was hilarious! She said she designed it because she’s the ‘mummy’ at her house and is a knitter.

Original tatoo from Jenny Lee on Ravelry.

2. I’d buy some killer shoes that cost $500.00 or more and wear them proudly. I wouldn’t blink when I paid. They’d look good, too, and they would never hurt my feet!

Jimmy Choo...not in this lifetime!!

3. I’d sing Karaoke. I’d get up and sing and I wouldn’t be scared. I wouldn’t mess up either. Both of my boys have done this. In fact Bryce does it regularly. Don’t know about Callye.

4. I’d put a pink or blue steak in my hair. Well maybe not blue because I’ll be the old lady with blue hair soon enough!

Drawing by Evan. Streaks by me! ha ha

5. I’d bungee jump. And I wouldn’t have to go to the hospital afterwards.

6. I’d be in a play. A big one that a lot of people came to see. I’d act in my role, and not be inhibited. (Hmmm…am I noticing a trend here? Do I secretly wish I was a star? Ha ha)

7. I’d be someone important. I know lots of people who are very important, in their own minds! I’d really be important, though, for the day anyway! In my own mind!

8. I’d get liposuction. I’d only do that if I was wild. I hate needles.

9. I’d get a fancy sports car and drive fast. But not to work. If I had enough money to get a fancy sports car I wouldn’t have to work!

10. I’d go to Mardi Gras. I’d have a lot of beads that I didn’t have to buy at the souvenir store! Ewww….

These are actually Ty's. I'm not asking what he did to get so many.

This isn’t a bucket list. I think a bucket list is things you want to do before you die. Chances are I wouldn’t do some of these things even if I could. But then there is always that chance! So fess up! What’s one of your ‘wild’ things?

Wild thing, I think you move me

But I wanna know for sure

I was looking for a new project the other day ran across a pattern on Ravelry that is a woven ball. I know you’ve probably seen them in stores, made of plastic. I worked on some of the strips at the fiber fest because it’s kind of mindless knitting, except for keeping count of the rows. It was hard to explain how the strip I was knitting was going to turn into a ball!

Six strips. 20sts wide, 68 rows long.

I finished all the strips and put one together and it turned out really cool. It was a fun knit and since I have a lot of scraps this is a good way to use them.

First step. Weaving four strips together.

Finished ball. Cool!!

I got the beads for the bias shawl but haven’t put them on yet and I’m still gearing up to block the crocheted shawl.

Beads will be added to the fringe on each end.

I guess I’m getting a bucket list of knitting, things I need to finish before I die! And if I wanted to add knitting to my ‘wild’ list I guess I could always knit a wild bikini!

Wild thing, I think I love you.

But I wanna know for sure...

Oh come on, come on wild thing.

Check it, Check it wild thing.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Hoppin' down the bunny trail,

Hippity hoppity,

Easter's on its way!

Happy Easter! It was a long weekend so we decided to go to Ruidoso. We have a place up there and wanted to check on it to make sure all was okay. I wish it was closer because I sure like it up there. Evan wanted to go we picked him up in Seminole.

Callye's cookie...too pretty to eat!

As we got closer to Ruidoso it was depressing to see the damage the recent fire left. The once green trees were just burnt sticks standing on the top of the mountain. We saw how close the fire had come to people’s homes. We saw where one house had stood, now just a pile of charred ashes, with warped metal that were cars, sitting nearby. It was sad.

It was still light when we got to the house. As always we went in and looked around to see if anything has changed since the last visit. Alan turned on the water and the hot water heater and I put our things away and started to gather things for supper. They made a quick trip to the store to pick up the few things we needed while I began to cook.

It is always such a peaceful time there. The weather was so nice. It’s still dry, as is everywhere around here and the fire danger is high. But the pine trees and the clear mountain air were refreshing. The house has a great deck and E can go outside and play. We hang out there a lot. We cook out there and even eat outside sometimes.

Sky through the pines.

The deck

The neighbor's bear.

Alan picked up some corn and a bale of hay so the deer might come up because E likes to see them. Sure enough, at dusk, there they were. The dogs were locked safely on the deck so they couldn’t cause a commotion.

Hay for deer.

Where's supper?

Time for a nap!

Later that evening we played games and watched TV. Alan went to bed early and E and I stayed up watching Spiderman, the movie. I’d never seen it but he had and filled me in on every detail!

We all slept in the next morning, at least at late as the dogs would allow. I started the coffee and E and I had a cup. He loves to have coffee with me. His is half a cup of milk, one Splenda, and coffee to fill the cup. He calls it Doctor coffee (doctored coffee) like my kids did when they were little. We had breakfast while Alan got caught up on some much needed rest.

Picture of the dogs Penni took in the office

Later that afternoon we had to make the mandatory trip to ‘Walmark’. E is a shopper and he figures if he’s alone with Mamye and Pap he’ll make the most of it! I had promised him a toy so he went to get what he wanted. He picked it up and showed it to me. I glanced at where it had come from (I thought) and saw 19.99. I thought it was a little steep but decided he’d been really good and what the heck, it was only money, so told him okay. Alan kind of glanced at me like I was looney but then he does that a lot so I didn’t pay much attention. We got the rest of the things we needed and headed back up the mountain.

In the parking lot E was so excited about his toy, some kind of spy watch that took audio and video, and asked me if it cost the same at Seminole. I said yes, it was 19.99 there too. Alan said I think you’d better look at the receipt. I did and guess what? The toy was 49.99. I wondered how what I’d bought added up so fast! Oh well, it’s only money and E will certainly get that much enjoyment out of it.

$50.00 spy watch!

As is always the case when you are enjoying yourself, the time came to an end too quickly. Getting things ready to go always seems to take so long. We change the sheets, clean the bathrooms, wash the towels and sheets and anything else that needs washing, do the dishes, clean the kitchen, mop and vacuum. That way if anyone else goes up there everything is ready to spend the night. We sometimes rent it out since we don’t live there full time.

We start home and E immediately says he’s starving, probably to death, if we don’t stop at McDonald’s. He’s such a funny little guy! We stop, get some chicken nuggets and he’s okay for a while. He sleeps some, I knit and Alan drives.

When we got to Seminole, Callye had fixed a wonderful Easter dinner for us! We had roast with tiny potatoes and carrots and mushrooms, roasted asparagus that she’d cooked in brown paper bags, broccoli slaw, pasta salad, hot rolls and for dessert, strawberry shortcake! Everything was delicious. The kids then went out and hunted eggs. It was a bit later in the evening than our traditional activities but it was still a lot of fun. She made a platter of her beautiful Easter cookies and sent them home with us.

Carrot cookie with no icing

Easter platter from Callye and family

Little Easter lamb!

All In all it was a great weekend with plenty of rest and relaxation. I knitted on a bias shawl with some of the yarn I got from DFW, Brooks Farm, Ellie. I actually finished but want to get some beads for the fringe. I’ll post a picture later. I got the rubber tiles needed to block my other shawl but haven’t done it yet. I thought about hauling it all with us but decided I wouldn’t have enough time. Turns out I probably would have. I’m finishing up a toy ball for E and then will start something. I don’t know what yet, but I’ll be doing something!

Brook's Farm 'Ellie'

Wound for a Bias Shawl

I’m thankful for the time we got to spend together and enjoy each other as a family. And if some jelly beans or chocolate bunnies or Easter cookies get thrown it it’s even better! I know what Easter is really about. And I’m thankful. Hope your Easter was happy!

Bringin' ev'ry girl and boy,

A basketful of Easter joy!

Things to make your Easter

Bright and gay!

Hippity hoppity,

Happy Easter Day!

Life Is A Highway

I wanna ride it
All night long…
If you're going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long…

Road trip! We’re packing for yet another quick trip of 2000 miles in five days! We’re going to Utah this time to see Ty. I haven’t seen him since October and we both miss him. I’ve never been to Utah so I’m looking forward to it.

We left the house at 3:30pm. We made a couple of stops then took off for Utah. Yes, it was a very long ride. We stopped as needed and did pull over and rest for about an hour. Alan did most of the driving but I didn’t sleep. He has this annoying habit of running over the Mallory strips and scaring me as soon as I doze. A Mallory strip is what we call that bumpy area that lets you know you are running off the edge of the road. Mallory’s dad had a big part in creating these bumpy patches, hence, Mallory strips. Some states have them on the edges of the road and in the middle so I got it from both sides. We drove into Vernal about 20 hours later, 10:30am the next day. Actually on our time it was 11:30. We unloaded, had lunch then rested. Alan snored as soon as his head hit the pillow. I went into Mom mode and started straightening up Ty’s room and doing laundry. I couldn’t sleep but did manage to relax some.

Ty and his roomie took us to eat lunch at a local restaurant. They are both petroleum engineers and just moved to a new apartment. I’m a people watcher. While we were waiting for our food to arrive I noticed that every girl who came in had puffed up hair. It was like there was a sale on Bumpits and everyone bought one! I finally mentioned it and Ty told me it’s actually called the “Vernal Poof”. It’s ‘the’ hairstyle to have. Isn’t that funny?

The advantage of driving all night is that you get there. The disadvantage is that you are exhausted when you do. We took it easy and looked around at some of the local sites. Vernal is located in the Unita Basin which is famous for its dinosaur fossils. Alan had an appointment to get some new seat covers put in the Dodge. We dropped the truck off as we looked around. The Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum was right across the street from the seat cover place. I didn’t go in but I did walk over and get some pictures of the outside dinosaurs. I know the littles would love to see it!

Dinosaurs in Vernal

Camo Seatcovers

Lots of hiding places!

Utah is a very pretty place. At least where we were it was. But it sure didn’t seem very spring like! It was cold and the mountains still had snow. We drove around and saw some beautiful scenery. We went out to the mountains and saw an operational mine. They do a lot of reclamation to restore the land so it wasn’t a barren ugly mess like I expected. Their tailings pond boasted that it was crystal clear. There were streams and a lake. Everything was crisp and fresh looking. It was really a nice change from the dry, ugly dessert we come from.

Reflections on a lake

The view from the top...Utah

Looking down from the mountain in Utah

Up high with the aspins...Utah

Too soon it was time to head back. We decided to break up the trip home into two days. The countryside through Colorado was real eye candy. There were many snow topped mountains. We saw literally hundreds of elk. We saw deer and wild turkeys. We tried to stop in Silverton. It’s a quaint little village with lots of shops and restaurants but it seems everything is closed on Monday. Seriously, even the gas station/convenience store was closed. There were kids, bundled up, playing outside. I don’t know what they do if someone who actually lives there needs something! We also went through Durango, where we spent our honeymoon. It’s changed so much neither of us could even remember where we stayed. We wondered if the place was still standing! We drove on to Santa Fe and spent the night. After a good night’s sleep we headed home the next day.

Silverton, Colorado

An old mine office in Colorado

Rocky Mountain High...Colorado

A tunnel in Colorado

The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the depressing changing scenery. Soon it was no longer cool with temperatures in the 80s and higher. The mountains were replaced by wide open spaces. The green trees and snow turned into sand dunes and mesquites. We agreed that even though it’s home we sure live in an ugly place!

I started a crocheted shawlette called Summer Twilight Shawlette on the way. It was with the Madeline Tosh yarn I got in Dallas.

Madeline ToshYarn

Wound yarn.

It’s not big and I was sure I could finish it on the trip. Turned out I did. Twice! It was really pretty but it was the size of a doily! It was more like a collar than a shawlette. I made a few of the shells on the final row and decided to take it all out and make it again, with a bigger needle.

Started shawlette...the first time.

On a hook two sizes bigger than what the pattern recommends I started again. What a difference! Now it looks like a shawlette even before it’s blocked. I finished it, again, and this time I’m happy with the results. Now I just have to block it!

Finished product...unblocked

Even though the road trip was long, it was fun. We saw a lot of things and enjoyed our own company. Now it’s back to work for a couple of days. But we’ve already decided we’ll get back in the car and head off again, somewhere, soon, going through all these cities and all these towns. We’ll make the journey and we’ll go the distance. And we’ll enjoy the ride.

Well, life's like a road that you travel on.

There's one day here and the next day gone.

Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand.

Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it

All night long.

A Girl's Night Out…

Friday finally came around.

This girl's ready to paint the town.

Tonight ain't nothin' gonna slow me down!

The car is packed and I’m ready to go. I’ll swing by the airport and pick up my sister and we’ll eat. Then we’ll head towards Dallas, Grapevine really. We’re going to the DFW Fiber Festival. I know that probably doesn’t sound exciting to most people. I’ve had plenty of jokes from the people I bothered to tell. But it’s exciting for us. Judi’s main interest is bead work. She can knit, but doesn’t. She does crochet occasionally so that made it legit. And she appreciates the aesthetics of the fiber fest. Besides, why pass up a good reason for a girl’s weekend?

We took our time getting there which turned out to be a good thing. There is a lot of construction along the way with lanes unexpectedly merging down to one in many places. I found out Cheree needs a map update since she couldn’t find the hotel. Luckily my phone has a GPS feature too, so we got here. Because it was late we grabbed a bite to eat in the lobby restaurant. It was one of the best lobbies ever! There were comfortable seating areas and little alcoves everywhere. If you looked around you could find people spinning or knitting or crocheting, even at the bar!

We settled in and decided we’d sleep in the next morning. The hotel provided a shuttle to the convention center, so we made arrangements. We decided to take it the first time, just to see where everything was. We bought the weekend ticket for the show in case there was something either of us happened to forget on a visit through. Could that happen? Probably. Did it? Definitely!

When we walked into the convention center the first thing we had to do was to make a plan as to how we were going to look at all of this stuff! Both Judi and I like to look through to see what all is there then go back through again to pick up anything we can’t live without. My pal MK posted some great pictures of the vendors on her blog. She was one of the first people I saw and I was glad to run into her.

Picture by Always Alice

There was so much to look at and touch. We found yarn made out of buffalo, musk-ox, silk sari’s and of course wool. The colors were amazing. There were people spinning, weaving, crocheting and knitting. We found a lady who had crocheted flowers from cassette tapes and a bag from dry cleaner bags. There was a ‘knitting lounge’ where friends could gather to rest or visit and work on a project. We made a few purchases and we headed back to the hotel.

Quite a haul!

Several of my knitting friends came to the fiber fest. Shama, Marilyn and Kim came from the Houston area. Teri B and Marcia were there. Nikki and Alice came in and Mary Kay was there too. Susie, Dawn, Deena, Gina, Joy, Ruby, Sabina and Lora dropped in. I missed Elizabeth but I know she was around. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned each one there or not but I was glad to see everybody! We got to visit, knit and just enjoy being with people who have a common interest.

It was a great time. And it seemed like it we’d just arrived when it was time to leave. I guess, like I’ve always heard, all good things must come to an end. We made one last stop by the convention center, made one last purchase and said one last goodbye. Then we started home.

We talked about the weekend. We talked about what we were going to do with the yarn we had each bought. We talked about the fun time we had with all of the other knitters, the old friends and some new ones we made. We talked about how we should get together more often. And we know it won’t happen as much as we’d like. Then we were home.

I did my time workin' all week.

Tonight's all mine, tomorrow I'll sleep.

I've been workin' my fingers to the bone.

Well , it's a girl's night out

Honey, there ain't no doubt…